Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, featuring double kick and blast beat techniques; minor keys or atonality; abrupt tempo, key, and time signature changes; and chromatic chord progressions. The lyrical themes of death metal may include slasher film-style violence, political conflict, religion, nature, philosophy, true crime and science fiction.
Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with Satan and the occult, Mercyful Fate were part of the first wave of black metal in the early to mid-1980s, along with Venom and Bathory. Many of the bands from this movement went on to influence later black metal musicians in the 1990s, particularly in Norway. Mercyful Fate has also been acknowledged as a prominent influence on the subsequent heavy metal scene of 1980s and 1990s, including thrash metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, Testament, Exodus and Kreator, and death metal bands such as Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary and Cannibal Corpse.
The Principle of Evil Made Flesh is the debut studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 24 February 1994 through Cacophonous Records, following three demos released between 1991 and 1993. The album's sound is significantly more raw than on subsequent releases, and frontman Dani Filth's vocals differ from his later style and technique. The album is a then-unusual hybrid of gothic metal and black metal. This would be the only album featuring guitarist Paul Ryan and keyboardist Benjamin Ryan; guitarist Paul Allender also left the band at this point, but returned five years later for Midian.
9 is the seventh studio album by Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate. 9 was recorded during February and March 1999, and was released on 15 June 1999, on Metal Blade Records. This album continues the heavier sound that was introduced in their previous album Dead Again, and also marks the continuation of the Satanic- and occult-based lyrical themes which were prevalent during the band's first incarnation and were reintroduced on the Time (1994) album, as the primary lyrical focus. 9 was Mercyful Fate's last studio album before their twenty-year hiatus from 1999 to 2019.
Haunting the Chapel is an extended play (EP) released by American thrash metal band Slayer in 1984 through Metal Blade and Enigma Records. Slayer's debut album Show No Mercy became Metal Blade's highest-selling, leading to producer Brian Slagel wanting to release an EP. Recorded in Hollywood, the recording process proved difficult when recording drums in a studio without carpet, although it resulted in drummer Dave Lombardo meeting Gene Hoglan who was to become an influence in his drumming style and speed. It was during the recording of this session that Lombardo first had the double bass added to his kit. Hoglan, working for Slayer at the time, sat at the kit and played a double bass for the first time. Lombardo was impressed and although Hoglan never gave him lessons, he did give him tips regarding the use of the double kick drum.
Burning Bridges is the third studio album by the Swedish metal band Arch Enemy. It is the first Arch Enemy album to feature Sharlee D'Angelo on bass and the last studio recording to feature vocalist Johan Liiva. The music here showcases the band's wide interpretation of the death metal genre to include portions of melodic death metal, progressive metal and grindcore. A music video was released for the song "The Immortal".
Deathcrush is an EP by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. It was released on 16 August 1987 by the Posercorpse record label.
Sharlee D'Angelo is the Swedish bassist for the melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, as well as the classic rock/AOR band the Night Flight Orchestra and the stoner metal band Spiritual Beggars.
Morbid Tales is the debut EP by the Swiss extreme metal band, Celtic Frost, released in November 1984. The first European release on Noise Records was a mini-LP with six tracks, while the American release by Enigma/Metal Blade added two tracks, bringing it to the length of a regular LP.
Butchered at Birth is the second studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. It was released in 1991 through Metal Blade Records.
Seance is a Swedish death metal band. The band was formed in March 1990 when two local Linköping bands, Orchriste and Total Death, fused. They split up after two albums in 1998. Most band members were also involved in the bands Satanic Slaughter and Witchery. Patrik Jensen later joined the band The Haunted. They reunited in early 2008 and released a 2009 album, Awakening of the Gods, through Pulverised Records.
Patrik Jensen is a Swedish guitarist and co-founder of the bands, The Haunted (1996-present), and Witchery (1997-present), and also the former guitarist of the bands Orchriste (1987-1990), Seance (1990-1995) Satanic Slaughter (1994-1996) and Brujeria (1997).
Witchery is a Swedish extreme metal band, formed by former members of Satanic Slaughter in 1997. The current lineup consists of guitarists Patrik Jensen and Rickard "Rille" Rimfält, bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, vocalist Angus Norder, and drummer Chris Barkensjö.
Satanic Slaughter was a black metal band from Sweden.
Restless & Dead is the first album by the Swedish thrash metal band Witchery. Released in 1998 on Necropolis Records, the album features members of the band Satanic Slaughter. The title is a play on the Accept album Restless and Wild.
Witchkrieg is the fifth full-length studio album by the Swedish thrash metal band Witchery, released on 21 June 2010 in Europe and 29 June 2010 in North America. This album is their second on Century Media Records. Like their previous album, Don't Fear the Reaper, Witchkrieg was mixed by Tue Madsen at his Antfarm Studios. Witchkrieg showcases an impressive line-up of guest musicians such as Andy LaRocque from King Diamond, Kerry King from the thrash band Slayer, Hank Shermann of Mercyful Fate, Lee Altus and Gary Holt from Exodus and Jim Durkin from Dark Angel.
Khaos Legions is the eighth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. It was released on May 30, 2011, by Century Media. The record marks a return to new, original material, after releasing the Tyrants of the Rising Sun - Live in Japan live CD/DVD (2008) and The Root of All Evil (2009) which consisted of a selection of re-recorded songs from the band's back catalog. It is the band's ninth album counting the compilation.
In His Infernal Majesty's Service is the sixth full-length studio album by the Swedish thrash metal band Witchery and their third since signing with Century Media Records. The album was released on 25 November 2016.
Dead, Hot and Ready is the second full-length album by the Swedish heavy metal supergroup Witchery. Released in 1999, it was the last Witchery album with Mique on drums.
Witchburner is an EP from Swedish heavy metal supergroup Witchery, released in 1999. The track listing consists of four cover songs, followed by three original songs.
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